Iraq's parliament agreed on Monday to set up a body to draft constitutional changes, a key part of a breakthrough deal reached by the country's factions to end political paralysis and avoid civil war.
Members agreed on the committee in principle on Monday, and will name its 27 members on Tuesday. It will have 12 members from the ruling Shi'ite religious bloc, five ethnic Kurds, four from the main Sunni Arab bloc and smaller numbers of others.
The deal resolves political issues that were deliberately left vague last year in an effort to persuade Sunni Arabs to end their three-year-old insurgency and join the political process.
Sunni parties agreed to participate in the December election after they were promised there could be changes to the constitution, adopted in a referendum in October. They want more guarantees for minorities and central control of Iraq's resources -- notably the world's third biggest oil reserves.
http://www.aina.org/news/2006092595544.htm
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